The Remains: Part 1

South Georgia: Grytviken and Stromness

On the island of South Georgia, in the Southern Ocean, are the two Norwegian whaling stations, Grytviken and Stromness, established at the start of the 20th century. They were each successful, lucrative, and productive. Due to the over-exploitation of whales, the population in the seas around the island diminished over the next sixty years, and the Grytviken station closed in December 1966.

Today the shoreline around settlement is littered with whalebones, the rusting remains of whale oil processing plants and abandoned whaling ships.

Down the northern coast, not far from Grytviken, is the settlement of Stromness, another whaling station. Built in 1912, it operated until 1961, at which time was abandoned. It is famous for being the final destination of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition journey in 1916.